Not Your Perfect Fairytale
by Shunters
Summary: Set in a dragon rider AU. Gwaine's dragon is acting sick, so he seeks out the best dragon trainer/healer in the land; Emrys Nagendra, the Warlock. Merlin had just finished his day of dragon training, when he received a letter informing him that a Dragon Rider from Camelot was concerned about his dragon and was seeking his help. Gwaine/Merlin. T for language, and in case


**Not Your Perfect Fairytale…**

 **Summary:** Set in a dragon rider AU. Gwaine's dragon is acting sick, so he seeks out the best dragon trainer/healer in the land; Emrys Nagendra, the Warlock. Merlin had just finished his day of dragon training, when he received a letter informing him that a Dragon Rider from Camelot was concerned about his dragon and was seeking his help. Gwaine/Merlin.

 **Warnings:** Soulmates (kinda, but only for Dragonlords & their dragons & respective Mates). Lesbian!dragons, bisexual!dragons (although, that isn't the focus of this). Bad language. Implied sex. Implied drunken sex. Implied premarital sex. Gore. Violence. Beware a Dragonlord's rage. There are loose threads in this story.

 **Prompt:** "My dragon is acting sick and you specialize in dragon illnesses, please take a look at her. Wait, why are you laughing?"

 **IMPORTANT A/N: Fic 2 of my OTP prompt challenge. 'Anguis-Astu' is pronounced** / _an-goose ass-to/_ **and means 'Dragon City'. 'Evighet' is pronounced** _/ev-i-et/_ **, meaning 'eternity'. Okay, so in my AU, there are several different types of dragon, each with their own subspecies. The first group is of Great Dragons, species: Destiny Dragons (sub-species: Seers, Advisors), Time Dragons (sub-species: Seers, Manipulators), Existence Dragons (sub-species: Space/Spectral Dragons, Matter Dragons, Destruction Dragons), Life Dragons (sub-species: Holy/Restoration Dragons, Cursed/Affliction Dragons), Demonology Dragons (sub-species: Summoners, Demons, Shadow Manipulates). The second group is of Bond Dragons, species: Weather Dragons (sub-species: Night, Storm, Blizzard, Day), Nature (sub-species: Acid, Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Wyverns are manmade Fear Dragons & stories of a manmade, mutant Metal Dragon), Arcane (sub-species: Runic, Skeleton, Plasma).**

 **Okay, so Great Dragons are those like Kilgharrah (very big, and can speak to everyone, vocally). Bond Dragons are those who can form a bond with a human, they are also much smaller and can only speak to dragon riders through telepathy. Not everyone can have a dragon; dragons choose who their rider(s) are. Bond Dragons are a very common sight, while Great dragons are quite rare. I imagine Bond Dragons to roughly be the size of 'Saphira' from 'Eragon', while Great Dragons are like Kilgharrah or Smaug (from the Hobbit). The Anguis-Astu crest is the image I put as the cover for this fic.**

 _'Thoughts'_

 _"Telepathic speech/messages"_

"Normal speech"

 **"Dragon/Dragonlord language"**

… **And Definetly Not a Normal One**

When Uther rid Camelot of magic, he couldn't get rid of the dragons; they were too valuable an asset. Instead of slaying them all, he banned all dragon riders, apart from his own Dragon Guard. After all, Camelot was known to have the best dragons, riders, knights and armies. They had to keep that up if they were to prevent their enemies from attacking them.

After Uther died of an unremarkable case pneumonia, however, Arthur lifted the ban on both magic and civilian dragon riders, having never agreed with his father's decision. He reached out to the kingdom of Anguis-Astu and forged an alliance with their king, Balinor Nagendra, the Dragonlord. This alliance meant that not only did Camelot benefit from the unique trade Anguis-Astu had to offer, but they also received the best sorcerers and were granted access to the best dragon training camps and their graduates. Therefore, as soon as Gwaine- a Knight of the Round Table (which was reintroduced by Arthur)- discovered his dragon acting lethargic, sick and depressed, he immediately wrote to the best dragon trainer/healer in the land: Prince Emrys Nagendra, the Warlock.

(There were rumours that the prince was born with a different name, but the Druids gave him the name 'Emrys' after receiving his destiny from the Great Dragon, Kilgharrah.)

Gwaine was removed from the Dragon Guard temporarily, until his Plasma Dragon- Hinto (AKA Blue)- was better. Hinto had been refusing to go out, for the past five days, and just lay around. She was occasionally sick after her breakfast, but otherwise she just seemed depressed. She wouldn't tell Gwaine what was wrong, and just moped about.

As Gwaine made his way back to his room from Hinto's stables, he decided to write a letter to Prince Emrys and send it off with a postal dragon that afternoon, marking the letter 'URGANT'.

* * *

Merlin and his Runic Dragon, Aithusa, were just finishing up another Dragon Training lesson, when he sensed a new dragon approaching the training arena. Merlin was dressed in his riding gear of an all black reinforced leather two-piece suit. His boots and gloves were made of the same material. The Warlock had built retractable fins into the suit for free-falling, along with retractable claws in his gloves for fights. A long black cloak swept at his ankles, and a rune tattoo peeked out from the top of his suit on the left side of his neck. His black hair fell to his chin and had two simple braids behind his left ear, while he had a fringe on the right side of his face. The silver ring in his cartilage shined in the light as Aithusa's white scales glinted behind him in the afternoon sun and her bright purple eyes glowed, standing out from her ghostly pallor.

"Okay, class!" he called as he stood, leaning on the fence of the highest walkway in the large, stone and metal arena. He watched as his students and their dragons gathered below, "that's it for today! Good work! Keep practising the new moves, but make sure there's someone there to spot you," the dragon he sensed landed on the platform, bearing the crest of Camelot on the red blanket beneath the saddle, "see you Monday!"

The class disbanded as Merlin and his dragon moved towards the common Camelot dragon.

"Sire," the rider bowed, "Sir Gwaine of Camelot's Round Table asked me to deliver this to you, urgently," the woman passed over an envelope marked 'Prince Emrys Nagendra: URGENT'.

"Thank you," he took the letter and nodded his head to the woman, passing her a small tip. She bowed, before mounting her dragon and taking off again.

The prince turned to his dragon, _"should we eat first or open the letter?"_

Aithusa's musical laugh sounded in his head, before she replied, _"_ _Merlin_ _, the letter is marked 'urgent',"_ she laughed, _"I'm led to believe that means it should be opened upon receiving it."_

Merlin sighed, _"I guess you're right."_

The white dragon laughed again as her rider began to open the letter. Aithusa read the letter through their mind link as Merlin scanned the page.

 _Prince Emrys,_

 _I write to you today in concern for my Plasma Dragon, Hinto. As of late, she has been lethargic and refuses to go out, even to hunt. She has been sick occasionally, and is acting grumpy and depressed. She refuses to tell me what's wrong, and hardly speaks to anyone._

 _Please, I'm begging you, help her._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Sir Gwaine of Camelot._

He folded the letter away and turned to stroke his dragon.

" _Looks like we've got a new patient,"_ Merlin told Aithusa.

" _Hmm,"_ she agreed.

* * *

The following day, Merlin came into land on the red 'X' marking out the landing pad for dragons. Both Aithusa and Merlin were decked out in their full armour. In addition to his riding gear, the prince now wore his helmet which covered his whole face, showing only his bright blue eyes. There were three slightly diagonal lines on the right side from below his nose to above his chin. He wore his black battle armour on top of his riding gear, which was made from dragon scale-like metal. Aithusa's armour was a shining silver which covered her tail, chest, neck, head, legs and part of her wings. Her armour was more decorative and light because it wasn't strictly necessary with her solid and hard scales.

Together with the black saddle and the Anguis-Astu silver-on-black crest on Aithusa's chest, the pair made quite the menacing picture. Unsurprisingly, two guards approached him as soon as he landed. Aithusa crouched down, allowing him to slip off her back.

"I am Price Emrys of Anguis-Astu, this is my dragon, Aithusa," he told the guards, "I wish to speak with your king."

The first guard nodded, "Tanith, my dragon, will show Aithusa to the guest stables. Follow me to King Arthur."

The guard turned and started to walk away. Merlin followed the man through winding stone corridors and cold hallways. He was led through a pair of great oak doors, into a large hall. He guessed this was the council chambers of Camelot.

"Wait here," the guard told him, "King Arthur will see you shortly."

Merlin sighed to himself as the guard left. He walked to the nearest window and looked down upon the city of Camelot. It was very beautiful. For a mortal-built city, at least. He preferred the great stone halls of Anguis-Astu, built into several cliff sides, surrounded by emerald fields and jade forests with buildings carved into the towering trees, and crystal rivers running through the land. But, maybe he was just biased. He heard the door open behind him and turned, walking back towards the middle of the room. A young blonde man dressed in fine threads stood before him. King Arthur, he assumed. Merlin could tell the man was slightly unnerved and intimidated by his armour, so he reached up and pulled his helmet off.

He held the helmet under his left arm as he reached out with his right, smiling at the king, "I'm Prince Emrys of Anguis-Astu. You can call me Merlin."

The king smiled back and clasped his arm, "King Arthur. What did you need to speak to me about?"

"Well, I received this letter," Merlin pulled said letter out from where it was tucked in his armour, "it's from one of your knights, Sir Gwaine, concerning their dragon."

Arthur read the letter through before handing it back, "I heard about Hinto's illness. I assume you're here to treat her?"

Merlin nodded, "yes. And, when I told my father I was going to Camelot, he asked me to check up on the state of our alliance and help teach your Dragon Guard some new moves."

The King nodded, "of course, you and your people are always welcome in Camelot. My servant shall be at your service, for the duration of your stay here. There will be a feast tonight, and you may join us at training anytime."

"Thank you, Sire," Merlin bowed slightly.

"Please, call me Arthur," the blonde replied with a smile, "now, if you'll excuse me I have other matters to attend to."

"Of course," the prince nodded.

The king led the way to the door and called to his servant, "George!"

"Yes, Sire?" the ginger teen replied.

"You are to serve Prince Emrys for the duration of his stay here," Arthur told him.

"Of course."

"Show him to a guest suite," the King ordered.

The servant bowed, before leading the way to what would be Merlin's room. Upon reaching the room, the prince had a look around. It was simple enough: a large bed, a desk, a dining table, a wardrobe, and an ensuite bathroom.

"Will there be anything else, Sire?" the servant asked Merlin as he looked around.

"Yes. Could you show me to Sir Gwaine, please?" Prince Emrys asked.

"Of course, this way," George turned and led the way through the castle.

Gwaine's room was empty, so George showed Merlin to the tavern where they (surprisingly) had no luck, before going to the training grounds which were empty, and finally to the dragon stables belonging to the Knights of the Round Table. It was built out of stone in a large circle. There were six different alcoves, each with a name plate above the large doorways. Opposite the entrance was an exit which was currently open, but could be bolted shut with steel doors. There was no roof on the building, just giant shutters; the alcoves provided the dragons with enough shelter. There was bedding, food and water in each of the dragons 'rooms', while there was a selection of toys in the centre of the building. The nameplates above each of the alcoves, going clockwise, read 'Leon - Ekait', 'Elyan - Agnimukha', 'Lancelot - Nova', 'Gwaine - Hinto', 'Percival - Azzan', and 'Guest'.

Merlin smiled as Aithusa- who was in the guest chamber- rumbled a greeting at him. The servant indicated to the alcove Gwaine's dragon inhabited. The Warlock thanked him, before George muttered something about duties and rushed off. Merlin walked over to his own dragon, saying hello and placing his helmet down, before grabbing a bag off the saddle.

 _"Do you need any help?"_ Aithusa asked him.

 _"I don't think so,"_ he told her, _"thank you, Aithusa."_

 _"Can we go for a fly, once you're done?"_ she asked.

 _"We'll see,"_ he replied, _"there's a feast being held for us, tonight. We can't miss it."_

The white dragon sighed, _"okay, then."_

Merlin stroked her side, before turning and walking over to Sir Gwaine and Hinto's area. Laying on her side was a dragon which had the same form as Aithusa, but was instead a pitch black colour, with an underbelly of deep blue which also dusted her wings. Her horns and spikes were a silver-ivory colour, which matched her claws. Sitting in front of the dragon, stroking her neck, was a man with shoulder-length dark brown hair. He was dressed in the armour of a knight of Camelot.

"Sir Gwaine?" Merlin asked.

The man stood and turned, "yes?"

The Warlock's breath caught in his throat as he felt something click inside his chest. By the man's face, Merlin guessed he felt it to. He held his hand out to the handsome man, "I'm Prince Emrys, please, call me Merlin."

The knight gasped, before clasping Merlin's arm, "well met, I'm Gwaine," he indicated to the dragon behind him, "my dragon is acting sick, and you specialize in dragon illnesses, please take a look at her. Wait, why are you laughing?"

Merlin stopped his laughter, still smiling as he said, "sorry, I suppose you really couldn't have known, but," he chuckled, "your dragon isn't sick."

"She's not?" Gwaine frowned.

The Dragonlord shook his head, suppressing another laugh, "she's going to lay an egg."

"...she's what?"

Merlin laughed at the knight's bemused expression. After getting his laughter under control, the prince told him, "I recognise the signs and swollen stomach from some of the dragons back home. She wouldn't happen to be spending a lot of time with a male dragon, would she?"

Gwaine frowned as he thought, "er, well, she's always around Agnimukha and Azzan as they're two of the Round Table dragons."

"What type of dragons are they? Maybe I can identify the father."

"Azzan's an Earth dragon, and 'Nim's a Fire dragon," he still had that adorably confused frown on his face, "why wouldn't she just tell me?"

"My guess is, she didn't want you to be disappointed or angry with her," Merlin told him, finally becoming serious, "as to who the father is, I'd say Agnimukha is the most likely."

"Do you know when she's due?" Gwaine asked him.

"I'd have to speak to her to say for certain, but I'd imagine it would be a week at the most," the Prince replied.

"I'll wake her," the knight moved forwards, calling out to his dragon with his mind and gently stroking her neck, "wake up, Blue," he whispered.

Hinto's double eyelids peeled open, revealing deep blue eyes which matched her blue scales, _"what is it, Gwaine?"_ she asked him, telepathically.

"A friend of mine wants to ask you some questions," he said, out-loud for the benefit of Emrys, "Merlin," he stood and motioned the prince forward.

The Plasma dragon gasped, before bowing her head and averting her eyes.

"What's she doing?" the knight asked, having never seen a dragon do that before.

"She can sense my Dragonlord heritage and my Warlock powers," Merlin explained, "she's showing me respect."

 _"Lord Emrys,"_ Hinto spoke into his mind, _"it is an honour to meet you."_

The prince bowed back, respectively, with his arm over his heart _, "on the contrary,"_ he replied, _"it is an honour to meet you, such a beautiful dragon, and a rare Plasma Dragon as well,"_ the dragon gave a bashful grin as she lifted her head, _"do you mind if I ask you some questions?"_

 _"Of course,"_ the dragon smiled.

 _"I know what's wrong,"_ he told her as he knelt to sit on the floor by her head, _"I was wondering if you could tell me when you mated with Agnimukha?"_ she gave a sigh as she rested her head on the ground, _"please, Hinto, it's important,"_ he explained.

 _"Call me Blue,"_ she replied as her eyes shifted to look at him, _"I couldn't help it,"_ she told him, _"Nim's just so sweet and kind. We've been spending a lot of time with each other, recently, and...it was ten days ago."_

 _"Do you love him?"_ Merlin asked.

 _"...I don't know,"_ she admitted.

" _Okay,"_ he patted her side, before standing and turning to Gwaine, "I'd say she'll lay the egg in about 7 or 8 days."

"When will you leave Camelot?" the knight asked.

"I leave in 2 weeks," Merlin told him.

"And when will the egg hatch?"

"We'll leave it for 5 months, see if it hatches on its own, and if not, a Dragonlord from Anguis-Astu will need to hatch it."

Gwaine nodded, "thank you so much, Merlin."

"It's no problem," he replied as they shook hands, "my father wanted me to check up on the dragon riders of Camelot anyway, so," he shrugged.

"So, you're going to be inspecting the Dragon Guard?"

"Yup," he nodded, "teaching you lot some new moves."

Gwaine laughed, "that's going to be fun to watch."

"Well, in a week, you'll be joining in as well."

"True."

There was a rumble from behind Merlin, and he turned, seeing Aithusa making her way towards them.

"Wow," Gwaine breathed.

"This is Aithusa," the prince told him, "my dragon. Aithusa, this is Gwaine and his dragon, Hinto."

 _"Greetings,"_ the white dragons' voice sounded in Gwaine's mind, before she turned to Merlin, _"can we go for a fly?"_

Merlin nodded, "excuse me, Gwaine, but Aithusa's due for a fly now. I'll see you at the feast, tonight, yes?"

"Of course," the knight nodded, "have fun."

"We will," Emrys smiled, before walking over to his dragon and unhooking his helmet from the saddle, reattaching the saddlebag which he hadn't needed.

He jumped onto Aithusa's back as she crouched low to the ground. She gave an excited rumble in the back of her throat, her leg muscles bunching up as she prepared to take off. Merlin pulled his helmet on, wrapping the straps around his shins where they rested either side of the dragon's neck. The Warlock attached the other straps around his waist and grabbed the reins, before patting the side of his dragon's neck. With a jump and a flap of her wings, Aithusa brought them into the air, heading towards the open ceiling.

The man hunched low on the saddle, bringing himself close to the dragon below him. The pair finally flew out of the building, glinting white and black in the midday sun. The gasps of the citizens below them were lost in rush of the wind and the beating of Aithusa's wings. They rose higher and higher, breaking through the clouds, climbing as high as they could. The Runic Dragon then stopped flapping her wings and tucked them into her body. She turned, and plummeted towards the ground, nose first. Her laughter rang in Merlin's head as his whoops of joy echoed in hers. A few metres from the buildings, Aithusa pulled up, spreading her wings and gliding forwards and slightly up. She used the momentum to turn and corkscrewed forward. She flew as fast as she could around the city, using the spires and towers as obstacles which she had to sharply turn to avoid.

 _"How much time do we have left?"_ Aithusa asked as she glided gently around the parameter of the city.

 _"I'd say about three hours, before we need to speak to my uncle, Giaus, if we eat while we're out,"_ Merlin told her.

 _"Brilliant,"_ a rumbling purr accompanied her words.

The dragon coasted out of the city, heading towards the forest. She dodged the trees with sharp turns and she bolted through the woods. After a few miles, she broke out from the tree tops and flew gently for a while.

 _"Do you know where we're going?"_ Merlin asked, out of curiosity.

 _"No idea,"_ Aithusa laughed _, "it's that fantastic?"_

The Warlock laughed with his dragon.

An hour later, the pair landed by a waterfall which poured into a large lake-like river. Merlin pulled his spear off the side of Aithusa's saddle and made his way to the water, looking for fish. He spotted a large cod and struck. The long point of the spear broke through to the other side of the creature with a spurt of red, while the short point was stuck inside the fish. The man pulled the fish out of the water and off the spear, before throwing it back towards Aithusa, who lingered in the shadows behind him. Merlin repeated the process several times, collecting a fish for himself amongst the many for his dragon.

He left the spear to dry in the sun as he sat with his feasting dragon. With a muttered spell, Emrys' own fish was cooked. He ate it quietly, pulling the meet off the bones with a small knife from his saddlebag. Once they were both done eating, Merlin re-mounted his dragon and they took off, at a more sedate pace now. The man decided to forgo the safety straps this time as they weren't doing any stunts.

 _"Gwaine and Hinto are our Mates,"_ Aithusa blurted out after ten minutes of silent flying.

 _"They're our_ _what_ _?!"_ Merlin squeaked.

 _"Don't deny in, Merlin, you felt it too; that click in your chest when you first saw him, that told you it was just_ _right_ _,"_ she replied.

The prince thought back to when he first saw the knight and his dragon. Indeed, it had felt _right_ to be with them. He felt at ease around the man, unlike when he usually met new people.

 _"You can refuse to full in love with him all you want, but it won't work,"_ the white dragon became uncharacteristically serious, _"we are meant to be with them."_

 _"No matter what's_ _meant_ _to happen,"_ Merlin told her, _"I won't take anyone away from their home."_

* * *

That evening, Merlin changed into his best royal blue shirt, black trousers, and black neckerchief. He pulled on a black leather jacket and his long rope necklace with the silver crest of Anguis-Astu on. He sat on his bed, buckling his shoes, before pulling on his black fingerless leather gloves, covering the Runes on his hands. There was a knock at the door and he stood to open it. Standing outside, was the servant from before, George.

"King Arthur spent me to bring you to the feast, Sire," the ginger told him.

"Thank you," Merlin said as he shut the door behind him, following the young man down the hall.

Arriving in the Great Hall, the prince headed towards Arthur, who stood and clasped his hand, saying, "welcome, Merlin, have a seat, here, and enjoy the feast."

"Thank you, Arthur," he sat to the left of the king, next to Gwaine, who sat at the end of the main knight's table, "hello, Gwaine."

"Hi, Merlin," the knight smiled.

"How's Blue doing?" the prince asked.

Gwaine nodded with a smile, "much better, thank you. She's eating again, so that's always a plus, and she's talking to people again, which is good. Or bad, depending on just how much talking she does."

Merlin laughed as he helped himself to some salad, chicken and beef.

"What's that?"

"What's what?" the Warlock cocked his head to the side, like a confused dragon, frowning.

"The tattoo, on your neck, what does it mean?" Gwaine asked as he indicated to his own neck.

Emrys pulled the side of his black neckerchief down, "it is the mark of a Dragonlord. I received it when I was 12, after the Great Time Dragon, Athlai, bowed to me."

"Wow," the knight replied, "that's quite something. Did it hurt?"

"All of them did," Merlin told him, "they were burnt in with magic, unlike ordinary tattoos which use ink."

"How many do you have, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I've lost count. The first one I received was this one," he removed his right glove, "the Triskelion, when I was 7, after the Druids informed my farther of my destiny," he pulled the gloves back on and continued to eat, "the rest of that tattoo was done about three years ago."

"Do all your people have tattoos?"

"All Dragonlords have at least one, sorcerers tend to have a lot of Runes, to channel and increase their magic...and then there's those who just like them."

Gwaine laughed. While the pair were having their conversation, Arthur and his wife, Gwen, we're having their own discussion.

"Those two seem very close," the queen had a knowing look on her face.

Arthur looked over to where she was looking, "I don't know why," he replied, "they only met today."

Guinevere smirked as she drunk from her goblet.

"What?" he asked, "you have that look on your face."

"They look very _friendly_ with each other, if you know what I mean," she told him.

"What? You mean...?"

"Yes," she smiled.

"But-" just then, the pair burst out laughing and Arthur looked over at them, "oh...my...god. You're right."

Gwen laughed at the king's baffled and shocked face.

* * *

The next few days were spent in much the same way for Merlin: have breakfast, put on riding gear, fly with Aithusa, train with the knights, have lunch, train with the knights again, train with the Dragon Guard, hang out with Gwaine or Giaus, have dinner, go to the tavern with Gwaine, sleep. Then, a week after arriving, just as Merlin was getting changed, George burst into his chambers.

"I'm sorry, Sire," the servant replied, "but Sir Gwaine sent me to get you; something is happening with Hinto."

The prince quickly pulled on a red top and his boots, before running through the castle, towards the stables. Merlin ran straight to Blue's alcove, where he found his own dragon laying behind Gwaine's, rumbling at the pained Plasma dragon. The knight was sat by Hinto's head, stroking her neck.

"What's happened?" Merlin asked as he came to a stop in front of the black and blue dragon.

"She's been in pain for about half an hour," Gwaine explained, "she says it's coming from her abdomen."

The young Dragonlord knelt in front of Blue's belly. He felt along it, feeling the rock-like shell of the soon-to-be hatchling and the contracting muscles. He checked the dragon's pupils and beneath her tail. He sighed in relief.

"It's alright," he told the worried trio, "she's about to lay her egg," the group sighed in relief, "give it ten, twenty minutes or so, and it'll be over."

Twenty minutes later, a navy blue egg sat with the group. Merlin and Gwaine smiled as Hinto scorched a corner of the alcove with a plasma blast, setting the egg on top of it with her tail.

"Thank you so much for your help, Merlin," Gwaine grinned at him.

"It's no problem," the Warlock shrugged, grinning back, "it's kinda my job to help people like you."

That night, Merlin and Gwaine went to the tavern again. They were celebrating the laying of Blue's egg. That was why the pair had one too many drinks. They were both laughing now, Merlin couldn't remember why, but they were.

"Y'know, Merlin," the knight threw an arm around the prince's shoulders, "you're a good friend."

"Thanks, Gwaine," the Warlock replied, "you're a good friend, too, a fun friend. An attractive friend," Merlin paused, a frown on his face, "did I just say 'attractive'?"

"Merlin," Gwaine got his attention.

"Yeah?" he turned his head and suddenly, a pair of lips- _Gwaine's_ lips!- were on his own, "mmm," he hummed as he closed his eyes and deepened the kiss.

Then they were standing and Gwaine took his hand, leading him through the streets and the winding stone halls of the castle, occasionally pulling him into another kiss. They soon reached the knight's chambers, where Merlin was swiftly pulled inside and pushed down onto the bed. Suddenly, they were both shirtless and groping each other, mouths hot against each other and breath coming in quick gasps.

* * *

Merlin's eyes fluttered open to birds chirping outside and a deep snoring beside him. He turned over and stifled a gasp at the sight of a sleeping, disheveled Gwaine, lying in bed next to him. The prince looked back to last night and came up with only flashes. Calling Gwaine attractive; kissing in the tavern; kissing in the lower town; kissing in the upper town; kissing in the halls; kissing in Gwaine's room; losing his shirt; Gwaine's tongue running over his tattoos; Gwaine's mouth on his neck, breath hot; Gwaine's mouth on his-

There was a grunt from beside him and Merlin looked over to see the knight rolling onto his side. He slept with Gwaine. While drunk. What the hell did he do now?

He flopped his head down on the bed and decided to wait until the knight woke up. In the end though, the prince's eyes drifted shut and sleep enveloped him once more. The next time he woke, it was to an arm round his waist and a mouth on his. He opened his eyes to see Gwaine above him.

"Hi," the older man greeted, a smile on his face.

"Hi," Merlin replied, a small frown on his face, "what happened last night?"

The knight's face fell as he moved off Merlin, "you don't remember?" he frowned.

"No," Merlin shook his head, looking at the other man who lay next to him, looking down on him, "I don't remember kissing you in the tavern, don't remember stumbling into your room," he smirked, "and I definitely don't remember that thing you did with your tongue."

Gwaine laughed, "you're a horrible person," he shook his head.

The prince let out a surprised laugh, "you're just lucky I'm not Arthur."

"Whys that?" the knight against with his adorable frown and a quirk of his lips.

Merlin moved closer to him, whispering, as if it were a secret, "because for that kind of treatment, on top of taking advantage of my drunken state, I would have you in the stocks for at least a week. And then there's the fact that I'm so much more fun."

"Are you now?"

"Mmhmm," he pushed Gwaine into his back and leaded over the man, getting close to his face, before whispering, "but, right now, I've got dragon riders to train," he rolled off the knight and onto the floor.

"Nooo," Gwaine moaned as he grabbed Merlin around the waist and pulled him back into bed, "the Dragon Guard can wait," he said while the prince laughed, "I have yet to study all your tattoos."

Emrys giggled as the knight leaded over him and began to kiss his neck, "if you want to study all my markings, we'll be here all day."

"So?"

He laughed again, " _so,_ both our dragons need to be flown-"

"They can do that themselves."

"-I need to train-"

"I've seen you fight, you're brilliant."

Merlin laughed, before continuing, "I need to teach the Dragon Guard a new move-"

"That one's true, but it can wait."

"-I need to practice my magic-"

"You can do that here."

"-and I need to practice my new flying moves with Aithusa, so we don't get out of practice," he finally finished, "not to mention the feast we _both_ need to attend tonight, in celebration of Blue's egg being laid."

Gwaine sighed and looked down at him, "fine. How about this; we spend another two hours in bed, eat brunch here, then we practice with the Dragon Guard, have a snack, go for a fly together, and then we go to the feast?"

"Hmm," Merlin thought, "sounds good," he pulled the man down into a kiss, "just one thing," he murmured against the other man's lips.

"What's that?"

"What the hell is brunch?"

The knight laughed, resting his head on Emrys' shoulder, "it's a word I made up," he lifted his head, "it's a combination of breakfast and lunch."

"Right..." Merlin nodded, "make up words often, do you?"

Gwaine laughed as he kissed the prince again.

An hour later, and Gwaine lay, studying Merlin's tattoos. He traced the circle around the Triskelion on the Warlock's right hand, following the line of Celtic knots up his forearm, across the animal zodiac signs on his bicep, over his shoulder as he shifted, down his shoulder blade (glimpsing what the knight recognised as a healing Rune by his spine), under his arm, down his ribs, over his hip, down the front of her leg, behind his knee, all the way down to the sole of his foot where there was another Triskelion.

"How long did this take to do?" Gwaine wondered out loud as he studied the strip of intricate markings running down the side of Merlin's ribs.

"My arm alone took about...four months," he replied, "not all day, everyday, of course, just an hour or so," he continued at the knight's raised eyebrows, "the rest took about another two or three months to complete."

"That's a long time, just to get a tattoo."

"Oh, they're not just tattoos, though," the prince informed him, "the channel my magic as both Dragonlord and Warlock, and show my standing to the world."

"So, what does this one mean?" Gwaine asked as he continued to drag his finger gently across the newly inspected tattoo.

"Lots of different things," he began, "the Triskelion stands for Druids, magic, nature, and a bunch of other things; the Celtic symbols and knots vary, meaning things like strength, luck, wealth, family, the Great Dragons, the Bond Dragons, etcetera; and the zoomorphic diagrams, which you can see on my bicep are for a man, a panther, a bear, a stag, an eagle, a sea serpent, and a chimera...my shapeshifting forms."

"You're shapeshifting forms?!" the knight asked in shock.

"Mmhmm," Merlin nodded.

"Can I see?" Gwaine asked as he stroked his thumb over the zodiac symbols.

The prince thought for a moment. If this was going to work between them- and somehow there was an unspoken agreement between them to try, "I don't see why not."

The black haired knight sat up and leant back against the headboard of the bed, while Merlin stood and walked to the end of the bed. The Warlock closed his eyes and focused on his first form. His hair elongated and sprouted from the rest of his body. There was a snap and he grunted as his bones started to realign themselves. He dropped to the floor, on his hands and knees as a sleek tail grew from the end of his spine. His eyes glowed a bright blue as his teeth lengthened and sharper, claws forming from his nails. His ears moved higher upon his head and became rounded.

"Merlin?" Gwaine asked as the sounds stood and he could no longer see his...friend? Boyfriend? Partner?...prince.

There was a deep rumbling purr and then a panther sprung up onto the bed, in front of him. The man cautiously held his hand out to the large animal, eyes wide with awe. The panther delicately stepped, so it- he was standing over the knight, who had started stroking the animal behind his ear.

"Can you talk in this form?" Gwaine asked over the top of the deep purring.

 _"Through telepathy, to other dragon riders, yes,"_ Merlin replied in his mind.

"You...are...amazing," the brown eyed man stated as he threaded his fingers through the thicker and longer fur of the panther's neck.

 _"Well, I don't know about that,"_ the shapeshifter replied.

"No, but, you are," Gwaine stated into the deep blue eyes of the panther and saw the shock in the animal's eyes.

The panther stared for a moment, before purring louder and rubbing his face against Gwaine's neck and cheek. The knight laughed and continued to stroke the animal.

After a minute, Merlin's voice sounded in the knight's head once more, _"would you like to see my other forms?"_

"Yes," Gwaine replied.

The Warlock pulled away, before jumping off the end of the bed. He landed quietly on soft paws, focusing on his next form. Bones snapped and Merlin growled as his shape changed again. This time a large black bear could be seen clearly from the bed. The large animal pushed off and stood on his hind legs, looking down on his knight. (Since when did he call Gwaine 'his' knight?)

The brown eyed man whistled, "now that's gotta be useful in battle."

The animal gave a bear-shrug and gave a grunt, which caused Gwaine to laugh as he interpreted it as 'yeah, kinda'. Merlin dropped back onto all four paws with a slight thud, before thinking of his next form. It took but a few seconds for his legs became longer as his fur became more course, and ivory bones grew from his head. Then a thin, blue-eyed, black stag was staring at Gwaine from the end of the bed.

"I must say, I'm impressed; I knew magic had its wonders, but this is something else," the knight stated.

" _Thank you, Gwaine,"_ Merlin's voice was sincere in his mind.

"What about your other forms? What's a chimera?"

" _It is a magical creature, made from more than one animal."_

"What does that look like?"

It took a few minutes for Merlin to reply with, _"I'll show you."_

Gwaine nodded. The Warlock focused on his form and felt out the magic inside of himself again. A black scaly tail, like that of a snake, grew from the end of his spine and his hindquarters changed proportions slightly, becoming that of a goat. His front half changed into a black lion, while the antlers on his head struck to horns and something began to sprout from his back. They were black dragon's wings. As he stood there, Merlin cast his eyes down, not wanting to see the disgust or fear in Gwaine's eyes.

The knight stood from the bed, wide eyed and walked to stand in front of the black beast. The creature came up to his shoulder, easily and Gwaine was slightly intimated, even as he was awed. He reached out a hand and stroked Merlin behind his ear. The chimera jumped, before leaning into the touch with closed eyes and a deep purr. While the panther's purr sounded very much like an overgrown house cat, the purr of the chimera sounded like a wild feline with the undertones of a rumbling dragon and the edges of a rolling storm. It was as breathtakingly beautiful as it was unnerving.

The pair stood there for a long time, before a knock sounded at the door. They both looked the the double oak doors, before Gwaine rushed to pull some underwear and trousers on. Merlin shifted back to his human form and pulled some underwear on as well.

"Just a minute!" Gwaine shouted at the door. The knight turned and saw Merlin climbing into his wardrobe, "what are you doing?" the older man whispered as he walked over to the Warlock.

"I'm hiding," he replied.

"Why?"

"I'll explain later, just get the door already," the prince pushed the knight towards the entrance of the room, while he himself stepped back into the wardrobe and shut the doors.

Gwaine opened the door, "Tyler, what can I do for you?" Tyler was his young serving boys, of only 16.

The blonde grinned, seeing his master's dishevelled state, "I was wondering if you wanted your usual 'brunch'?"

"Ah, you read my mind," the brown eyed man replied, "I was just thinking of sneaking into the kitchens."

Tyler laughed, "your hangover special I take it?"

"Hmm, lots of chicken, ham, potatoes, cheese, bread, and anything else you can get your hands on," Gwaine replied, "oh, and enough for two, if you could; I'm staving."

"Of course," the blonde nodded.

"Thanks, Tyler," the knight called down the corridor as his servant walked away.

Gwaine shut the door and wondered back over to the wardrobe, while Merlin stepped out of it.

"Well, our brunch is on the way," the brown eyed man informed his prince, "after that we can practice with the Dragon Guard, before we go for a fly."

"Sounds good," Emrys replied.

"So, we have some time to kill before the food arrives," Gwaine said, pausing before he continued, "you wanna make out?"

Merlin laughed.

* * *

"If you want to come flying with me, Gwaine," Merlin called from the doorway to the Round Stable (three guesses who came up with that), "you're going to have to _hurry up_."

The knight in question was busy chatted to someone in the street and continued to ignore the waiting prince. Merlin rolled his eyes and walked into the stable, while the Round Table Knights laughed. The Warlock smiled at them as they each lead their respective dragon to their alcove. Merlin enjoyed the diversity of the dragons of the Knights of Camelot. Sir Leon's dragon, Ekait (please, call me Kait, Lord Emrys) was a dark grey-black which blended seamlessly with the storm clouds she had at her command. Her electric breath was the same blue-white as the thunder and lightning she so easily manipulated. Sir Elyan's Fire Dragon, Agnimukha ('Nim, everyone calls me 'Nim), was a large deep red and orange beast, with eyes the colour of dancing flames. He had four horns, like all Elemental Dragons and retractable spikes all down his spine.

Sir Lancelot's Nova was a breath-taking creature indeed. In the dark and in bright lights, she was the darkest black you could ever see, blending perfectly with the darkness. She was a walking shadow; the alone part of her that wasn't black was her silver eyes. In low lighting and at night, she gained a slight navy blue tint and the points of her scales sometimes glinted like the stars. You couldn't tell her apart from the night sky. Then, there was Sir Percival's Earth Dragon, Azzan. He had large, rock-like leather scales which changed from the sandy-grey colour of rocks to the earth-brown and green shine of the ground and trees. He was an extremely large beast for a Bond Dragon, his four horns an extra foot longer than most and the retractable spikes on his spine were more stone-like and less ordered than other Element Dragons'. No one- man or dragon- knew who Azzan's parents were and Merlin often wondered if one of them was a Great Dragon, due to his extreme size. But, like Percival, the dragon was as sweet and kind as a kitten.

As a Dragonlord, it pleased Merlin immensely to see the range of forms, colours, species and personalities of dragons. Especially the rare types, like Nova and Kait.

As he went to stroke the Night Dragon, Merlin saw Aithusa and Blue speaking to each other. The Plasma Dragon had gotta over her crush on 'Nim the day after the royal duo arrived in Camelot, and the Fire Dragon accepted that they weren't meant to be together. To be honest, the Warlock thought that she now had a crush on Aithusa.

"Those two seem to be getting close," Lancelot commented to Merlin as the prince stroked Nova.

Emrys smiled, "I think they may be crushing on each other."

"Ah," the noblest knight of them all replied, "like you and Gwaine, then?"

The Warlock's eyes widen as he turned to look at his friend, "I...you can't..."

"Relax, Merlin," the knight told him, "your secret's safe with me."

The blue eyed man sighed in relief, "thank you. Please don't think that I'm ashamed of Gwaine, because I'm not. But I'm also a prince of a different kingdom. My father would accept me taking him as my lover and consort, but he would expect me to marry a woman as well, to gain an heir. Then there's the fact that stealing a Knight of the Round Table from Arthur would probably cause problems."

"I'm sure Arthur would understand," Lancelot replied, "he's a good man and he wouldn't stand in the way of love. After all, he married a serving girl."

"Be that as it may, I won't take Gwaine away from his city and his king," the prince's standing on this was strong.

"You know, Merlin," the commoner-turned-knight informed him, "before he became a knight, Gwaine wondered the land of Albion, traveling with only the clothes on his back and a satchel. He did this for years, leaving his home town when he was just 15. Then he found Blue, when he was 19, a dragon just as boisterous and hyper as himself. Shortly after, he saved Arthur's life in a tavern brawl. He stayed in Camelot for several weeks before moving on. He refused to serve under a man like Uther, even though he would lay down his life for Arthur.

"Then Uther died and Camelot was taken over by Cenred's man. Arthur called upon those who were loyal to him, outside of Camelot, Gwaine included. As a reward, he knighted all of us and revived the tradition of the Round Table," Lancelot explained, "the only reason Gwaine stays in Camelot is because he feels like he owes it to Arthur...and he was tired of fleeing from tavern brawls, but that's not the point."

"What exactly is the point, Lancelot?"

Said knight smiled, "the point is, Merlin, that Gwaine would go with you if you asked. And if you didn't, I think Blue would follow you back, anyway."

 _"May I suggest something, boys,"_ Nova's cut in, echoing in both their heads, _"why not just ask Gwaine what he wants?"_

The boys blinked, before turning to each other, "see problem solved," Lancelot patted his back.

Merlin laughed and was about to reply, when Gwaine called from behind him, "Merlin? You ready?"

"Yup," the Warlock nodded and smiled at Lancelot, before making his way to his dragon and pulling himself into the saddle.

Gwaine did the same with his own dragon, wrapping the safety straps on his shins and the reins around his forearms, gripping them in his hands. Merlin opted out of the safety straps and instead just pulled his helmet, wrapping the reins around his arms and hands. Aithusa didn't have her armour on today, for the first time since arriving in Camelot and the black of Merlin's riding gear and the saddle with reins stood out even more starkly from her white scales than normal.

Gwaine's riding gear was different from his own, consisting of brown leather trousers, black boots, a black leather jacket and some gloves. The knight had his hair tied back and his helmet covered only the top half of his face, eyes hidden beneath glass. The black leather helmet was strapped behind his head, before beneath and over his ears. Hinto's saddle and reins were black, like Aithusa's, but with less weapons attached and the red and gold crest of Camelot instead of the black and silver of Anguis-Astu.

Aithusa took off as soon as she new Merlin was ready. The prince squeezed his thighs together, holding tight to the dragon beneath him as they climbed through the sky, vertically. Blue took off after them, Gwaine holding tightly to his dragon, but less so than Merlin due to the safety straps. As they broke through the clouds, Aithusa levelled off and glided gently, waiting for the other Bonded pair to make it to them.

 _"I told you that you'd need to keep up, did I not?"_ Merlin's voice echoed in Gwaine's head as he smirked.

 _"Oh, we can keep up,"_ the knight smirked back, _"I'll race ya."_

 _"Are you sure you want to do this?"_

 _"You're not...scared, are you, Merlin?"_

 _"Oh, you're on. First one to the lake wins,"_ the prince replied, _"whoever wins gets to choose a tattoo for the looser."_

Gwaine laughed, _"you play for real stakes. I like it,"_ he looked at Merlin, _"you're on."_

" _On 3,"_ the Warlock told him, _"1…2-"_

" _3!"_

Emrys laughed as the brown eyed knight set off. Aithusa was off but a second after Blue. The Runic Dragon teasingly stayed neck-to-neck with the Plasma Dragon, the pair's laughter mingling in the group's minds. Ten minutes later, Merlin patted the side of his dragon's neck and she sped up, weaving smoothly through the taller trees and easily overtaking their companions. The race was truly on, now. The Warlock and his dragon laughed with pure joy as they enjoyed the freedom of flight.

Soon, however, the pair in for a swift landing, Merlin smoothly swinging a leg over his dragon's neck and sliding off her. A good five minutes later, Blue came in to land, Gwaine swung himself off his dragon as well, coming to sit beside his prince.

"You two are goddamn fast," the knight remarked as he watched their dragons step into the shallows of the lake to cool down.

"Well, I have been learning to ride since I was 5, and flying with Aithusa since I was 7 and she was big enough," Merlin told him, "whereas, you two have only been flying together for 3 or 4 years. Aithusa hatched when I was born, immediately Bonding to me. Growing up with and spending every minute of every day with your dragon, means they become more of an extension of yourself, rather than just Bonded to you," he gazed at his dragon lovingly, "when we fly together, we are as one, we turn with a single thought, fight as if the same person. We are so in sync that it is often hard for us to tell where one begins and the other ends."

"Wow, I've never heard of a dragon and their rider being so Bonded before," Gwaine told him.

"Really? Huh, I guess it must be another perk of being a Dragonlord," the prince shrugged as he pulled his helmet off and lay it on a rock behind him, "anyway, enough talk," he stood, taking his riding clothes off, "are you coming swimming with me, or not?"

Gwaine laughed as he too stood, removing his clothes. Merlin moved to a boulder which lead to the deep part of the lake, running to the edge of the outcropping and diving into the cool waters. His knight soon joined him in the watery depths. The Warlock smirked, before focusing and shifting form once again. A large, deep blue serpent floated in the water, in front of a wide-eyed Gwaine. The serpent had orange eyes and fins around its neck, with horns like a dragon's.

 _"I told you that I could shift into the body of a sea serpent,"_ Merlin's voice, laced with a chuckle, bounced around in his head as the serpent's mouth opened in a strange hiss, which he figured was a laugh.

Gwaine pushed to the surface to gain air and Merlin followed, breaking the ceiling of water with a hiss.

"Still utterly ridiculously...amazing," the knight breathed and the prince was suddenly glad that serpents couldn't blush.

 _"And I still don't agree with that."_

"It's still true, though."

After changing back to his human form, Merlin swam around his knight, the pair basking in each other's presence. Soon, however, Aithusa's voice rang in their heads.

 _"We need to get back for the feast,"_ she reminded them as they were laying on the warm stones, drying in the sun.

"She's right," Merlin sighed.

The knight groaned, "she's always right, isn't she?"

The prince laughed, "true."

On the way back to Camelot, Aithusa's mischievous streak flared up as she whispered in Merlin's mind, _"shall we show them that new trick we learnt."_

Merlin laughed, _"I do believe we shall,"_ he spoke to his lover, _"hey, Gwaine, wanna she a trick?"_

 _"Why not?"_ the knight didn't pick up of the teasing undertone's in his prince's voice.

The Warlock laughed out loud, before letting go of the reins and dropping to the side. He slide off Aithusa, plummeting, head first, towards the ground.

"Merlin!" Gwaine shouted in shock, but could do nothing as Aithusa, too dropped out of the sky, falling to the ground.

Then, Merlin turned and pulled fins out of the side of his suit, and suddenly, he was gliding, not falling. After a few miles of gentle gliding over the cloud, the prince found the fins away and summersaulted before landing smoothly on the dragon that was now below him.

As they flew back together, Gwaine stated, _"you're going ta be the death of me, Merlin Nagendra."_

The prince just laughed.

From then on, Merlin's routine changed. He would wake up (with Gwaine), sometimes sleep in (with Gwaine), eat (with Gwaine), practice with the Dragon Guard, practice with the knights, practice magic (with Gwaine), eat lunch (with Gwaine), fly with Aithusa (and Gwaine and Blue), eat dinner (with Gwaine), and sleep (with Gwaine). His life was working, and he stayed in Camelot for a month, everyone forgetting that he was a prince of another kingdom, who had duties.

Until almost five weeks after he arrived in Camelot, when Merlin was called away for his blissful life and back to the real world. It was a normal day like any other; Gwaine was seeing to some of his knightly duties and Merlin was sitting against a sleeping Aithusa, drawing his new found friends of Camelot. Then, a sharp pain spiked in his head and the sound of magic spun around him. He quickly grabbed a clean sheet of paper and closed his eyes in pain as he dragged the charcoal to the parchment, letting his magic guide his hand.

 _"Merlin!"_ Mongana's voice- his sister's voice- sounded in his head, frantic and scared, _"Merlin, we need your help! The city is under attack! They have sorcerers and enslaved dragons, those unlike any seen before! The Wyverns, they call them, catching one note of their screech can make the bravest man's heart weak. And they have abominations with them! Dragons with metal branded into flesh, with the breath of scalding iron! Your father is wounded and cannot command the dragons out of his kingdom. The other Dragonlords are trying, but their powers are not strong enough to control the half-dragons. We can hold them out of the castle, but not for long; rider and dragon alike fall beneath the enemy's swords and beasts. I fear we will not survive to see another dawn."_

Merlin gasped as he opened his eyes and broke out of the magic induced trance. That was not telepathy, just a message sent to him. The prince looked down on the drawings he had done to see the stuff of nightmares: twisted beasts that seemed to come from the depths of hell, and the trees in the forest of Anguis-Astu ablaze with dragon fire. He scrambled up, pushing the drawings to one side and pulling on his armour over his riding suit. He commanded the nearby servant to help him attach Aithusa's armour to her, before dropping a hastily scribbled letter on top of his drawings and leaping into his dragon. Aithusa took off without waiting for Merlin to pull his helmet on, having had plenty of practice with rushed take offs. No one but the serving boy was there to ask him questions, and George didn't dare ask the prince what had him so worried. The people of Camelot were used to seeing them take off so swiftly- if not so late- and so they did not question it.

Once in the air, Merlin pulled his helmet on and wrapped the safety straps around his waist, holding tightly to the reins. Four hours hard flight from Camelot, and the pair stopped in the air a while away from the main city of their homeland.

"Oh my Gods," Merlin breathed, watching the fires burn in the forest of Evighet, the Forest of Eternity, which can never burn down.

The prince grabbed his shock, fear and grief, turning it into anger and those who dared to harm his people.

Emrys steered his dragon down, towards the forest floor and followed the winding river to a steep waterfall. The violent downpour of water covered a hidden tunnel and the pair flew through to the cold stone halls of the cliff side. Aithusa navigated the secret passageway in the dark, for miles, eventually coming out in the dragon stables, to knights pointing their weapons at him. Merlin jumped from his dragon's back, tearing off his helmet as he looked at his closest friend, and knight, Will.

"My father?" he asked immediately, ignoring everyone's sighs of relief at his face.

"This way," Will turned and led Merlin through another secret tunnel, this one coming out in the Great Hall, which had been turned into a makeshift hospital, "over here."

Emrys rushed over to the king, who lay on a table, covered with a cloth up to his abdomen. His chest was bare, apart from a large patch of bandages which were dripping with red...and black. Hunith was standing by her husband, holding his hand as he lay dying, with Mongana stroking her father's head, tears falling down her face.

"No," Emrys whispered, voice thick with emotion and tears in his eyes, "I can save you."

"No, Merlin, my son," Balinor told him as his hands hovered over the soaked bandages, "you cannot, hatchling. The poison is too deep," the king's voice was rough as he lifted a shaking hand to stroke his son's cheek, "I love you. But, you are no longer a child, and you are ready-"

"I'm not ready, I have so much more too learn," Merlin interrupted, hand grasping to keep his father's where it was.

"But you are ready, my son; you have found your Mate and learnt everything you could from me. You will be a good king, I have no doubt. And when I am gone, you will be the most powerful Dragonlord to come into his powers," Balinor's weak voice insisted, "you will be able to destroy the mutant dragons and fulfil your destiny, uniting the lands of Albion."

"Father, please," Merlin's voice broke as tears fell down his face.

"No matter how much I achieved as king, I know that you and Mongana will always be my greatest achievements. I love you both with all my heart, and Hunith, you will always be love," his voice was getting weaker.

He started to choke on air and, as his family begged him to stay, Balinor's breath left him as his body left its life. Hunith closed her husband's eyes as she pulled her daughter into a hug.

"No!" Merlin shouted, eyes flashing amber as a nearby window shuttered.

He dropped his head to his father's still chest, weeping. After a few minutes, Emrys' grief turned to pure rage and he stood from his father's bedside. His eyes flicked red as he was consumed by his hatred and rage for the enemy. The Great Emrys walked back through the tunnel, like a man possessed. He mounted his dragon, almost peacefully as Aithusa's eyes shone a deep blood red too. With a wave of his hand, the gates of the stables opened and the pair took off into the darkness, the knight's warnings and questions falling on deaf ears. Emrys steered his dragon easily through the chaos and into the centre of the destruction. His magic deflected any foreign object with harmful intent as the all-powerful Warlock calmly gazed at the battle raging around him.

 **"I, Emrys, Lord of the Dragons!"** he shouted, voice reaching every dragon within his kingdom, **"command you, Monsters of the Inferno, to stop attacking the Dragon City!"**

The Wyverns and the monstrous metal beasts stopped where they were, but the people continued. Emrys frowned. They dared to attack _his_ people? _Kill_ his people? Well, no more. Emrys raised his hand and dragged it across in front of him. The paths between Aithusa's scales began to glow a deep blue, as did the tattoos on her rider's body. The forcefield around them fell as the enemies below them choked on their own boiled blood. An arrow cut through the sky as the attacking force was felled, one by one. The blue glow stopped as the arrow grew closer to its goal and the red drained from Emrys and his dragon's eyes. Then, Merlin cried out in pain as the arrow pierced through the only gap in his armour. Aithusa roared in outrage as the pain leaked through their Bond, to her. Merlin slumped forwards. The white dragon dropped from the sky.

* * *

 _My dearest Gwaine,_

 _I know that it has only been a month, but already, I have fallen in love with you. I do not know if you feel the same way, though I hope that you do._

 _Aithusa and I have been called back home, by an urgent message from my sister. My kingdom is under attack and my father is ill. I am sorry I cannot say any of this in person, but I am needed in my homeland. I know that you are my Mate, the person I was destined- as a Dragonlord- to love for the rest of my life. I wished to take you back to my kingdom with me, or not return at all, but now I fear I do not have either of those options. I tell you this incase I do not make it through the coming war._

 _I wish I had more time with you; I would have made you my consort, if you had let me. I know Mongana would have loved you._

 _I'm sorry to say this now, but I have no other choice._

 _Love,_

 _Your Merlin._

Gwaine dropped the letter as he scrambled to make preparations to help the other kingdom.

In the end, the knight rode out on his dragon, to save his prince.

 **The end!**

 **Yes, I am a horrible person to end it there, but I couldn't really think of how to proceed & I needed to post this desperately. **

**So, this started out as a sweet & short one shot about Merlin & Gwaine raising a baby dragon with their own dragons, but in the end, this just sort of...happened. *rubs back of neck sheepishly* yes, I have issues; I can't seem to write a one shot & always end up with multichap worthy fics, but then I can't write a multichap fic when I want to -.-**

 **Leon - Storm, Ekait ('Kait).** **Elyan - Fire, Agnimukha ('Nim).** **Lancelot - Night, Nova (my star).** **Gwaine - Plasma, Hinto (Blue).** **Percival - Earth, Azzan ('Zan)**

 **'Nagendra' means 'Lord of snakes'**

 **I may one day turn this into a whole !verse, but for now, I will continue with my OTP challenge. I will be doing more Merlin OTPs (probably Mongana/Gwen, Merlin/Lancelot and-or Merlin/Arthur), but not for a while. Up next: the Hobbit (pairing: Kili/Bilbo).**


End file.
